To think some parents are far too over protective.

[ScottishJo31]

Hi all, I am fully prepared to get flamed for this I have 3 children aged 9, 5 and 1 ( all boys) my middle son is in reception and every week without fail there is a message on the class WhatsApp group which usually contains a photo regarding a child who has the odd scrape or bruise caused by general play or sometimes rough play, with accompanying statements such as I am heartbroken that my baby has got hurt by another child .. I trusted my baby in the schools care.. etc etc
The majority of these injuries are minor scuffs and the odd tiny bruise potentially "caused" by a child no older than 5 years old.
My sons class has a lot of children who do need to supervised carefully and monitored because they play fight and run around a lot at lunchtimes as most 5 years old do in my opinion!
My sons have always had the odd scratch and scrape and I never think to give them the third degree about it... yet some
Of the boys who have been a bit rough with my middle son are the very ones who have every minor bruise listed on these groups.
I appreciate parents do not want to see their children get hurt but to document every tiny mark seems excessive. I appreciate I may be in the minority about this but it seems a bit much- it's something I'm seeing more and more...!

I agree

I agree

Yes some people are too protective and/or sensitive. I remember one of my friends messaging to say she was sobbing because her 2 year old scraped his knee. She also wouldn't let him climb the ladder for the slide in case he hurt himself. I think children need to learn their own limitations and independence (within reason!)

Yep, absolutely. Class WhatsApp groups are the work of the devil.

I totally agree and worry that the children are not allowed any independence.

As in, WhatsApp groups can encourage whinging, moaning and general preciousness.
In answer to your actual question, yes they are. Children get a few bumps and bruises - no big deal.

As an aside, just came back from school residential (I'm a teacher) and had to tell one mum her daughter had had a couple of injuries - nothing major, just a grazed knee and a bit of a turned ankle.
Mum's response was "well that just shows she's had a good time."
That's the right attitude. She was having fun, she fell over, end of.

I’d remove myself from the WhatsApp group

Hmmm, we don't have class What's App groups but given that in my youngest's class it's one particular child causing most of the issues most of the days and the school are tearing their hair out about his parents' utter denial then maybe that would be the sort of thing to make them sit up and think. So I'm sort of on the fence on this.

YANBU. This is why so many of the kids I work with are completely lacking resilience and go to pieces over the slightest thing.

I teach Reception and think class chat groups are the devil's own work. As a parent of (occasionally feisty) boys there are times they've been into scrapes and unless there's been deliberate unkindness or spiteful behaviour I've let it go and accepted it as part of parenting. Anything above and bound that (and it's a real rarity, less than once per school year) I've spoken straight to school and dealt with it in an adult way.

Most class parents are utterly lovely but there are always going to be the odd one or two who can't deal with the reality of raising children, and it's not the children's fault when they march into class telling me "My Mum says I don't have to listen to you because x, y and z". You know full well that life is going to be tougher on those children.

DD2 was very proud of her collection of Accident 'Certificates' in Reception. I've had so many (for her and DD1) I barely glance at them now, I just check for the head injury ones.
Scrapes, bruises, bumps... Even broken bones... Are all just a part of childhood. Its part of learning.

I fear we are raising a generation of utter wimps. One sees posts on here where mothers are savaged for leaving ten year olds alone for half an hour, letting eight year olds walk to school etc.
What happens when these poor cosseted little dears finally leave home? Real life will be a terrible shock!
My own DDs were amused, when they went to uni, by the number of fellow students who had no idea how to cook a meal, change a plug or work a washing machine.

Is this normal at your school or is your class an outlier? My older two have class WhatsApp groups, but they're mostly just reminders for ptfa events and occasionally people trying to find a hat or to remember when is the next (fecking) dress up day. The most drama we ever had was when a mum went into early labour and had to find a pickup at short notice!

I don't think the messages are all geared to one or two particular children as there is a group of 9/10 boys who frequently play fight, play police games and run around together and the "injuries" are generally caused by a number of them,

Yanbu

Wow that is odd, to blame school for a grazed knee or elbow.

YANBU, it’s pathetic.

I was always climbing or swinging off something when I was a kid and I usually had a plaster on my knee, I just expect kids to be like that.

I went swimming with my five year old and my friend and her five year old, my friends child was made to wear a inflatable arm bands and a ring and wasn’t allowed out of the shallow area (knee height water) the world has gone mad! She looked ridiculous. Scrapes and bruises are all apart of being 5!

You can only imagine what hassle the volunteers who run groups like Scouts and Guides get, they teach children to take risks and give then skills for life, but the fuss made about a scratch or dirty clothes can be amazing.
I have just sent my DS10 in to Asda on his own to buy a loaf of bread whilst I waited in the car, they have to learn to start to be independent.

We were forever getting calls from primary school about my DD2 - ‘ Hello, it’s Mrs X in the Welfare room, nothing to worry about but DD2 has has had a bit of a bump ( again) and you might want to pop her down to A & E, just as a check up’ She was small for her age but loved playing football with the bigger boys/hanging off things/ climbing things that you would not think anyone would attempt.

Thank God there wasn’t social media then but I hope I wouldn’t have been such a self-indulgent twat as to make posts about normal childhood events .

God my boys are covered in scrapes and bruises on their legs. They're very capable of doing it themselves with no intervention from 'rough' kids either. . They look a state in shorts

Fortunately our class WhatsApp isn't bothered with that rubbish. It's 99% panic reminders of non uniform days or homework/projects.

How embarrassing for them.

My youngest is leaving primary in a few weeks (sob) and my first order of business is deactivating whatsap. I shall have no more PTA, football or class threads.

I’m very much of the “if it’s not hanging off your fine” school of thought.

But I do think a lot of parents keep the cotton wool well and truly wrapped around their child. I spend a lot of time eye rolling at statuses about “illnesses” and “injuries”

I agree.
My DS is literally covered in scapes and scratches - he's a typical 3 yo boy - throwing him self around parks, falling off his bike, tripping over the football etc.
Nursery told me once they see me as a breath of fresh air because "I'm not bothered" about normal day to day scrapes etc, most parents kick off if their child has a minor scrape and cause a massive fuss over nothing.
I was always covered in bumps and bruises largely because we played outside all the time as kids!
Then these parents wonder why they have snowflake teenagers who have no resilience to anything - been wrapped up in cotton wool physically and mentally what do they expect.

Bloody hell! Those parents sound like hard work. WE never had this on our Whatsapp group. They must be PFB's surely (although even with my PFB I'd have been mortified to do that!). Of course if you give your kid the third degree they're going to tell you that mean little Johnny pushed me over (not mentioning that they had just kicked him).